Makes sense. I helped out one of my regulars back in April 2020 since I knew that this gig and his daytime gig were both on hold. He gave me a free massage once he started to see clients again.
Some forum members seem to prefer a transactional approach: pay for services rendered, and nothing more. And I have no critiques of that; we all need to do what we feel comfortable with. For me, offering a little bit of assistance during extraordinary circumstances like a pandemic to a really good regular provider facing financial precarity seems worth consideration for those who can afford it, especially if the provider will acknowledge that support later on as my guy did.